Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics: 2011
Digest of Education Statistics: 2011

NCES 2012-001
May 2012


Table 414. Average fourth-grade scores, class size, and instructional time in mathematics and science, by country or other jurisdiction: 2007
Country or other jurisdiction Mathematics Science
Average score1 Average class size Instructional time in mathematics Average score1 Average class size Instructional time in science
Hours per year As a percent of total instruc-
tional time
Hours per year As a percent of total instruc-
tional time
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
International average 500 (†) 26   (0.1) 144   (0.5) 16   (0.1) 500 (†) 26   (0.1) 67   (0.4) 8   (#)
Algeria 378 (5.2) 28 2  (0.8) 177 3  (4.7) 17 2  (0.3) 354 (6.0) 30 2  (0.7) 67 3  (4.7) 6 2  (0.4)
Armenia 500 (4.3) 31 3  (1.6) 133   (3.4) 15   (0.4) 484 (5.7) 27   (0.7) 81   (4.0) 9   (0.4)
Australia 516 (3.5) 24   (0.4) 174 2  (5.4) 18 2  (0.5) 527 (3.3) 24   (0.4) 46 3  (2.2) 5 3  (0.2)
Austria 505 (2.0) 20   (0.3) 126   (1.1) 17   (0.2) 526 (2.5) 20   (0.3) 92   (1.0) 12   (0.1)
Chinese Taipei 576 (1.7) 31   (0.3) 112 3  (2.6) 13   (0.3) 557 (2.0) 31   (0.3) 79 3  (1.5) 9 2  (0.2)
                                             
Colombia 355 (5.0) 32   (1.0) 175 2  (4.7) 17   (0.5) 400 (5.4) 32   (1.1) 139 2  (3.9) 13 2  (0.4)
Czech Republic 486 (2.8) 22   (0.4) 144   (1.1) 19   (0.1) 515 (3.1) 22   (0.4) 41 2  (1.3) 5   (0.2)
Denmark4 523 (2.4) 21   (0.3) 125 2  (1.2) 15 2  (0.2) 517 (2.9) 21 2  (0.3) 59 2  (0.9) 7 3  (0.1)
El Salvador 330 (4.1) 30   (0.7) 147   (2.6) 17   (0.4) 390 (3.4) 30   (0.7) 135   (3.5) 15   (0.5)
England 541 (2.9) 28 2  (0.5) 183 2  (2.1) 19   (0.2) 542 (2.9) 27 2  (0.5) 70 2  (1.7) 7   (0.2)
                                             
Georgia5  438 (4.2) 22   (0.6) 130   (1.5) 19 3  (0.4) 418 (4.6) 23   (0.6) 35 2  (2.8) 5 3  (0.5)
Germany 525 (2.3) 22   (0.2) 145 2  (1.5) 17 2  (0.2) 528 (2.4) 22   (0.2) 106 2  (2.1) 13 2  (0.2)
Hong Kong SAR6  607 (3.6) 35   (0.4) 150 3  (3.4) 15 3  (0.4) 554 (3.5) 35 2  (0.3) 72 3  (5.2) 7 3  (0.5)
Hungary 510 (3.5) 22   (0.4) 110 3  (1.3) 16 3  (0.3) 536 (3.3) 22   (0.4) 54 3  (1.5) 8 3  (0.2)
Iran, Islamic Republic of 402 (4.1) 24 3  (0.5) 105   (2.6) 15   (0.4) 436 (4.3) 24 3  (0.5) 83   (2.4) 12   (0.4)
                                             
Italy 507 (3.1) 20   (0.2) 201 2  (2.8) 19 2  (0.3) 535 (3.2) 20   (0.2) 68 2  (1.4) 6 2  (0.1)
Japan 568 (2.1) 31   (0.4) 136   (1.2) 16   (0.2) 548 (2.1) 31   (0.3) 82   (1.2) 9   (0.1)
Kazakhstan5  549 (7.1) 22   (0.5) 133   (1.7) 18   (0.3) 533 (5.6) 22   (0.5) 52   (1.3) 7   (0.2)
Kuwait7  316 (3.6) 25 3  (0.5)   (†) 4 3  (0.4) 348 (4.4) 27 3  (1.5)   (†)   (†)
Latvia5  537 (2.3) 22   (0.8) 121 2  (3.1) 18 2  (0.4) 542 (2.3) 23   (0.9) 48 2  (1.2) 7 2  (0.2)
                                             
Lithuania5  530 (2.4) 20   (0.3) 118 2  (1.7) 18 2  (0.3) 514 (2.4) 20   (0.3) 51 2  (0.6) 8   (0.1)
Morocco 341 (4.7) 29 2  (0.8) 162 3  (2.5) 17 3  (0.3) 297 (5.9) 29 2  (0.8) 54 3  (4.2) 5 3  (0.3)
Netherlands8  535 (2.1) 22   (0.4) 179 3  (4.6) 16 3  (0.4) 523 (2.6) 22   (0.4) 33 3  (1.5) 3 3  (0.1)
New Zealand 492 (2.3) 26 3  (0.4) 148   (1.8) 16   (0.2) 504 (2.6) 26 3  (0.4) 45 3  (2.5) 5 3  (0.3)
Norway 473 (2.5) 21   (0.5) 115   (2.5) 13   (0.3) 477 (3.5) 21   (0.5) 44 2  (1.9) 5 2  (0.2)
                                             
Qatar 296 (1.0) 28 2  (#)   (†) 12 3  (#) 294 (2.6) 27 3  (#)   (†)   (†)
Russian Federation 544 (4.9) 21   (0.4) 110 3  (1.3) 17 3  (0.2) 546 (4.8) 21   (0.4) 40 3  (1.1) 6 3  (0.2)
Scotland4  494 (2.2) 25 3  (0.4) 181 3  (2.7) 19 3  (0.3) 500 (2.3) 26 3  (0.6) 51 3  (3.1) 5 2  (0.3)
Singapore 599 (3.7) 38   (0.2) 201   (0.8) 21   (0.1) 587 (4.1) 38   (0.2) 82   (0.9) 9   (0.1)
Slovak Republic 496 (4.5) 21   (0.3) 143 2  (0.6) 18   (0.2) 526 (4.8) 21   (0.3) 59 2  (0.7) 7   (0.1)
                                             
Slovenia 502 (1.8) 19   (0.3) 141 2  (1.0) 20 2  (0.2) 518 (1.9) 19   (0.3) 84 2  (0.8) 12 2  (0.1)
Sweden 503 (2.5) 22   (0.5) 104 2  (2.3) 12 2  (0.3) 525 (2.9) 22   (0.6) 56 2  (2.5) 6 2  (0.3)
Tunisia 327 (4.5) 25 2  (0.4) 166 3  (1.6) 18 2  (0.4) 318 (5.9) 25 2  (0.5) 71 3  (2.7) 8 3  (0.3)
Ukraine 469 (2.9) 23   (0.4) 104   (1.4) 17   (0.3) 474 (3.1) 23   (0.4) 33   (1.1) 5   (0.2)
United States4,9  529 (2.4) 23 2  (0.4) 171 3  (3.7) 16 3  (0.4) 539 (2.7) 26 2  (0.7) 89 2  (2.5) 8 2  (0.2)
Yemen 224 (6.0) 46 2  (1.7) 134 3  (7.1) 15   (0.5) 197 (7.2) 45 2  (1.4) 83 3  (5.7) 10 2  (0.5)
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
‡Reporting standards not met because data are available for less than 50 percent of the students.
1 TIMSS scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000, with the scale average set at 500 and the standard deviation set at 100.
2 Data are available for at least 70 percent but less than 85 percent of students.
3 Data are available for at least 50 percent but less than 70 percent of students.
4 Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after substitute schools were included.
5 National Target Population does not include all of the International Target Population defined by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
6 Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China.
7 Kuwait tested the same cohort of students as other countries, but later in 2007, at the beginning of the next school year.
8 Nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates only after substitute schools were included.
9 National Defined Population covers 90 to 95 percent of National Target Population.
NOTE: Countries were required to sample students in the grade that corresponded to the end of 4 years of formal schooling, providing that the mean age at the time of testing was at least 9.5 years. Instructional times shown in this table are actual or implemented times (as opposed to intended times prescribed by the curriculum). Teachers provided class size and instructional time in mathematics and science. Instructional time was reported as hours per week; the hours per year shown in this table were computed by multiplying the hours per week by the number of instructional weeks per year. Schools provided the total instructional time used to calculate the percentage of time devoted to mathematics and science. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2007, TIMSS 2007 International Mathematics Report, by Ina V.S. Mullis et al., and TIMSS 2007 International Science Report, by Michael O. Martin et al. (This table was prepared June 2011.)